Cameron Winery -- sustainably farmed, non-irrigated, Oregon pinot noir and chardonnay

No matter what your political persuasion, I want you to be aware that the radical right of the Republican Party is adversely affecting my business in major ways. From their anti-immigrant diatribes meant to chase hispanics back across the border, to their inability to grasp climate change and now their tantrum regarding “Obamacare”, these so-called Tea Partiers are hurting American wine producers in major ways.

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Given the present enthusiasm over pink wines, it is hard to believe that there was a time in the very recent past when my best bet at selling pink wine was to put a picture of Ché Guevera on the front label and call the wine “Vino Pinko”. Now, thankfully, that has all changed.

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It is no secret that we do not use irrigation in our vineyards. The reasons for eschewing irrigation are multifarious but are rooted in a common notion that it makes sense and is truly sustainable. At the end of the day we know that our vineyards and way of life will endure for the next generation. A vineyard that exists on the notion of being sustained by a disappearing aquifer or stream cannot say the same.

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In the late 19th century when the European wine industry was literally imploding due to a little root louse called Phylloxera, many vignerons fled to South America and California. Fortunately for those who stayed, a viable solution was discovered and the vineyards were eventually saved.

Since phylloxera eventually hitched a ride from Europe to the West Coast of North America, these rootstocks are as essential to the vineyards of California and Oregon as they are to Europe. In all these viticultural areas, many vignerons have learned how  to join the scion (the part that provides the aerial part of the plant) to the root stock in a process known as “grafting”. Since the vineyards at Cameron contain a huge inventory of different clones of Pinot noir and Chardonnay as well as many Italian varieties, the only viable solution to expanding or replacing sections of the vineyard is to graft the vines ourselves. At first I thought “well, this isn’t rocket science” but after my first gallant attempts, I had to adjust that cogitation…

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Bud break just happened in Clos Electrique vineyard, and our friend Jeremy Fenske was there to capture it. Take a look at his beautiful footage after the jump…

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It is said that healthy farms maintain a balance between plants and animals. Because of the birds and bees (and a few cloven hoofed species) our vineyard requires minimal input of nutrition from outside. This is in essence the definition of “sustainable.”

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Pruning is one of the most important tasks that we accomplish each year in the vineyard. Nearly every day this time of year, we happily don rain gear and muck boots and march out to the vineyard to prune each vine according to its vitality, survey the vigor of the vineyard and identify areas that might need additional compost or specific cover crops. Actually the word “happily” might be a tad too positive on many days, perhaps best replaced by “determined”!
To read more and see a video by our friend Jeremy Fenske, click below…..

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Another vintage under my belt; I have lost track of how many, but in a world that lives on comparisons and analogies, I know that this is one is special.

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At this time of year the grapes are truly working for me, synthesizing things that will smell good and taste good, once the yeasts enter into the equation. Read on to understand a bit about the wonderful chemistry that occurs as the grapes ripen.

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But of course the French have a noun for the time at which the grapes start to turn from green to red: verasion. It is a most significant point in the slow march from bud break to harvest.

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